Life Before My Reaping
by MasteringAMuggleLife
Summary: A new perspective on Cato, includes Cato and Clove friendship- well as close as I can imagine it coming to- but I guess it could be interpreted as more. If you like, suggest who's next. I'm think a Haymitch one that will most probably be Maysilee...
1. Thresh

I greeted my grandmother with a kiss on her cheek; she smiled allowing her missing teeth show. In return I grinned and helped her from her seat. A knock sounded at our door and I let out a sigh of annoyance.

"We're coming." I held onto my grandmother's arm as we steadily shuffled towards the door. A more eager pounding smashed at the door. "I said we're coming!" I know that I shouldn't speak to the peacekeepers in such a manner but they always managed to irk me with the simplest things. After all my grandmother is an ill sixty nine year old, she should be resting, not killing herself for these idiots.

When I opened the door I was met the stern jaw of a strongly built thirty year old. With eyes narrowed he pushed me forward. It wouldn't have bothered me if it weren't for the fact that my grandmother had toppled to the floor brutally. Instantly I was by her side to aid her in getting back on her feet but it was not fast enough for the men in charge, one of them raising their fists. I intervened but not without consequences.

Beaten and bruised I was still forced to work in the fields that day. A young girl by the name of Rue offered me a smile as she began her work picking the berries. She was only twelve years of age yet she was stuck with the responsibility of supporting her family of five younger siblings. It disgusted me that she did not receive more help at home but then again it didn't really surprise me, Peacekeepers around here weren't the least bit attached to our district or its people. Out of the corner of my eye I watched the girl slip in some berries to her pocket, I smiled and looked around thankful that even though under the watchful eyes of the peacekeepers she had managed to steal the extra food supplies.

About an hour or so into work I heard a scream. Panicked, I looked around in search of my family. She stood near the peacekeepers currently beating what looked like the ground. Her body shook and her eyes held the horror of the event before her. Standing on my tip toes I could see the man on the floor screaming, crying, and begging for it all to end. I diverted my glance to the floor and attempted to block out his constant cries for help. His screamed filled every inch of the fields- the only sound. I let out a shallow breath, closed my eyes and tensed my muscles to stop myself from doing something I would later regret. Suddenly the screams stopped. The sickly sweet sound of the Mockingjays singing a dull tune up above. We all just carried on with work. Just another day in district eleven...


	2. Cato

I drew my leg to my chest and my arm on the tip of my knee as I balanced on top of the half destroyed wall outlining our family garden, out back. Clove perched herself on the corner so that her back was leaning against the structure of my home. Her deep brown eyes looked to me and our conversing suddenly stopped. The cluttering in the kitchen began once again and a young boy around the age of six ran out to me, clearly he was in a good mood. I honestly was not sure whether that would be a good thing or not. The boy soared over to me and my companion and slouched down next to Clove, she rolled eyes at the young boy and I could sense her tense. She was definitely not use to young children.

"What do you need Ace." My tone was not welcoming but then again it never really was. Unfazed Ace bounded over to me before exclaiming:

"When I'm older Cato, I'm going to win The Hunger Games, just like you!" I felt my whole composure stiffen. In that one moment my head spun and my eyesight became blurred. I was unable to process Clove's sincere words to my brother and after a deep breath I stared at him, directly in the eye. Then I took my hand, sighed in annoyance, and clapped him over the back of the head. He was so naive and innocent. He had no idea what it took to win The Games.

"No." With hands on his hips and a pout occupying his face he started,

"But-" before given the chance to give his pathetic excuses- all things most likely implanted in his brain by my father- I interrupted.

"No. Now I'm sure that mother needs some help in the kitchen. Go." The blonde haired boy attempted to stare me down however I easily won and he on his way once again. My counterpart's eyes followed the blonde into the house before turning to me.

"Were you intending to be that cruel? I'm not a huge fan of your brother but I'm guessing there's a reason to that particularly harsh behaviour?" The brunette beauty knew me too well, though we had spent years together at the academy, eventually becoming the two best students District 2 was ever thought to have, so it was to be expected. My father had taught me, specifically, well just as he had done with Tyrus. As to her question I knew that if I lied she would seek the answer until I gave her what she wanted and at this precise moment I did not have the energy to fight with her, training seemed to have take a lot out of me, maybe I had overdone it...

"I do not want Ace participating in the games." It was a blunt statement which I knew would cause her to ask more questions. But it was Clove so I didn't really mind too much.

"And why would you allow yourself to master the Academy if not to set the perfect example for your younger brother?" The female sat opposite me did not associate with my family eight years ago, when my family fell into a true despair, she was in vague knowledge of the details but knew of my older brother Tyrus and the struggle we faced after his unvictorious death.

"Tyrus had taken part in the academy so that I didn't have too, my father's pressure relived me yet it seemed to bury him. When he lost the sixty-sixth hunger games, my father focused all of his attention on me, only it was so much worse. He would harass me with the thoughts of shaming my family like Tyrus did." At this I couldn't help but scoff. "He was my hero, you know? And now I have to protect Ace. I have win. I have to restore my families broke pride, my father's broken pride." The girl half smirked, something she only ever seemed to do when around me. "I'm sorry..." I whispered the word; half hoping she would not hear me. It was the first time I had apologised, ever; the first time in my eighteen year long existence. But it was something I needed to do for she knew what it meant; if I won...

She shook her head, and my determination not to look weak broke though creating a facade that only she could see through though she did not press me on the matter. Her face looked over to the kitchen window that overlooked the small boxed off land. Something unsettling caught her eye as I could see the uneasiness in her eyes. I looked over to see a man staring unwaveringly at us, our only protection the thin plastic sheet of the window. He still wore his peacekeeper outfit. My father. I was unable to keep his gaze too long, his eyes burning into my back telling how weak I was the minute I looked away. The girl shivered and pulled both her knees close to her chest.

My gaze unconsciously slipped to her and she must have seen something in me change because a strange look passed her features.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, wanting to know if I had done something wrong. Hesitantly she replied but not before she darted her glance back over to the window and back at me.

"I've just seen something in you that I've never seen before."

"And what is that?"

"Fear..." Her voice was low and the whisper was carried along the waves of the breeze to my ear. For a moment I had let my guard slip. Even around Clove that was dangerous, especially with our fates pathed before us. The mental walls I'd built, to secure whatever was left of my true self, and pulled them straight back up. It was hard to tell if my facade of strength and power had deceived the brunette as her demeanour stayed solemn.

A couple of minutes of silence suffocated me into standing and presenting her my hand. She accepted and I pulled her to her feet. Back into the house I went, ruffling Ace's hair as I passed him. No words were exchanged between me and my father; his emotions were never displayed on his face so it was hard to guess what he thought as I drove Clove through the house. A swallowed the rising bile in my throat knowing that I'd rather die than disappoint this man. One look into the blonde boy's eyes and I could see his adolescent excitement for the reaping next week, his excitement to see his older brother win. I let out a tired sigh. I had to win...


End file.
